Hrexxin
Note This race is not part of the Exodus continuum. It belongs to a Spiral of Worlds universe. The Hrexxin The Hrexxin are a race of bipedal biomechanoid beings that constitute one of the four Empires that make up the Imperial Congress. Their devotion to technology and scientific advancement is matched by few, and in all things they strive for union between biological life and machine life. Physiology Physical description Very few people have ever seen a Hrexxin, so it is not widely known what they look like. What usually is seen is biomechanical suits that the Hrexxin wear almost constantly. These living suits, called dendareas, have hundreds of varieties, and usually customized so there is little in the way of a stock appearance. Once melded, it is extremely painful for a Hrexxin to be removed from the suit and the suit will almost always die from the experience. By nature, a Hrexxin adult stands around 5' 6", is bipedal, and as thick skin ranging in a variety of colors, depending on their diet. Their body is comprised to a large degree of minerals, giving them a very angular look, as well as a lot less flexibility and agility. Their heads are small affairs, mainly serving as a vessel for a disproportionate mouth and eyes. They have no visible ears or nose, smelling through their mouths and hearing sound vibrations throughout their entire body. Self Maintenance Within every Hrexxin lives colonies of nanites and other such biomechanical beings, inherited from the parents at birth. Often times, infants will be injected with upgraded versions of these devices, which will become an interdependent part of the Hrexxin's genetic makeup. By the time the Hrexxin reaches physical maturity at around twenty years, it will have interface jacks grown directly into the nerves in the arms, legs, spine, and head. This allows the Hrexxin to meld with its suit. Because they are not a carbon based life form, falling more under the lithomorph form of life, their biology has very few comparisons to humans. They do not respire, they need to eat only very seldom, however they do spend in a good deal of time in a sleep like torpor. They do, however, have a circulatory system. It is a common misconception that because Hrexxin are never seen outside their suits, that they are physically weak and vulnerable. In fact, Hrexxin are extremely hardy and can survive untold rigors and hazardous conditions. While incapacitating one is not as difficult, killing one involves high levels of trauma to both the head and torso. Dietary needs Because they are part machine and part biological, their dietary needs are many. While they do not need to eat often, the combined needs of the machinery and the living parts requires minerals and biological food sources. They can eat almost anything and garner nutrition from it. Approximately once a year, a Hrexxin will experience something called the Restoration, which is a massive eating binge usually lasting several days. During this time, A Hrexxin will typically isolate itself, eating everything that it can fit in its mouth. This biologically driven process will not stop until the body has recovered every nutrient it needs. The Restoration can be avoided by simply ensuring that the more obscure, trace minerals are included in the diet, but often there is one nutrient or another that gets missed. Because the Hrexxin eat so many dense foods, they have extremely acidic saliva, which can reduce most minerals into a digestible paste. As a side note, their skin coloration is due in a large part to the minerals they eat. While this usually only manifests itself as a brown or gray mix, Hrexxin who ingest exotic and brightly colored minerals can often taken on more exotic colors. Intrabodies Whether or not Hrexxin themselves could be considered biomechanical or merely cybernetic has been a topic fierce debate in many scientific circles. Regardless of the title, the Hrexxin have mechanical cells commonly known as Intrabodies or Nanites living and breeding within their bodies. These Intrabodies work within their host to provide a variety of services, from augmenting the host body's own biological processes to growing (or constructing) the various appendages programed into them. The Intrabodies use nutrients within the host body, like normal cells, and typically work autonomously and without a glitch. Intrabodies are controlled through out the body by a small control cluster of Intrabodies that colonize at the base of the brain stem, allowing for communication between the host brain and the rest of the Intrabodies. This technology, while quite reliable and safe, is under constant refinement, so it is not uncommon for new software versions to be uploaded to the Intrabody control cluster, allowing for more efficient use of resources and movement. Sociology Knowledge and order are the two keystones to the society of the Hrexxin. Their empire goes by the title of Plenary Exemplar, which is what every citizen is expected to strive for: complete perfection. To this end, the Plenary Exemplar maintains a very tight grip on all its citizenry. Massive computer databases detail every bit of every member of the Exemplar citizenry so as to ensure that order is maintained. The average Hrexxin has no concept of the idea of privacy, as they are born and breed under the watchful eye of the Exemplar. While citizens of the Exemplar are afforded a decent degree of freedom, all of the choices must fall within the realm of "order", or else strict punishments are sure to follow. Imprisonment is a favored form of punishment, coupled with either forced labor or medical experiments, so that the prisoners do not become unproductive drags on society. Social Organization Very few things in Hrexxin society are considered static, as they are constantly seeking improvement. As such, rulers tend to come and go quickly, until a highly successful candidate is found to fill that position. Unsuccessful rulers are seldom tolerated for long. There is a substantial gap between those in power and those not in power. Those in power control everything, leaving those at the bottom little recourse but to accept this or stage coups. Such overthrows are not common unless the ruler is inept and determined to be a detriment to whatever they rule. Hrexxin society tends to be a pretty stable thing, with predictable and planned changes as regular intervals. Even coups and other such "spontaneous" events tend to be pre-planed and anticipated. One reoccurring concept in Hrexxin society is ekheshh, which is best translated "growth to death". They believe that buildings, leaders, cities, ships, and just about everything, should grow for a time, but eventually die, so that the resources used by that entity can be reclaimed by a newer version. To this end, it is not uncommon for the Hrexxin to abandon cities, starships, stations, even whole planets on the occasion and either cannibalize them, or just desert them let nature reclaim the resources. Throughout the galaxy, there are many Hrexxin ghost towns that have been deserted. Psychology Like most species, there can be tremendous variety in personalities and motivations of Hrexxin, but there are several generalities that can be made about them. Hrexxin are typically a patient group of people, but once they are decided on a course of action, they are quick to act. They are known for having long memories and tenacious determinations. Hrexxin hunters are feared by their quarries because they will not be dissuaded by anything from their tasks. A fairly social creature, Hrexxin enjoy working in teams as a team, and especially love being a part of something bigger than themselves. Sometimes this is nothing more that just being a crew member, but if they can consider themselves a part of a bigger whole, there is satisfaction in that. They are also firm believers in respect, that respect should be shown to all who are deserving, be they friend or foe. Because of this belief, disrespect is something that seldom goes unpunished. If ever one wanted to test the boundaries of the Hrexxin memory and tenacity, disrespecting them in public would be a good way to do so. Rest assured, that some day, some year, that Hrexxin would see that disrespect repaid. This respect also extends to mechanical objects, living or otherwise. They treat their possessions with respect as well, and have been known to become upset at other species who do not share their sentiment for respecting vehicles. It has been speculated that this respect stems from the fact that so many of the Hrexxin tools are biomechanical, thus living, thus worthy of respect as living creatures. The Tih'mila The Tih'mila, best translated as "declared love" (although that translation falls quite short of the depth and seriousness of the word) is a universal concept among the Hrexxin. It has proven itself to be quite resistant to societal changes and the sands of time, something that all Hrexxin have, no matter their walk of life or upbringing. At some point in time, they must find their Tih'mila. Simply put, the Tih'mila is a entity of some sort that a Hrexxin choses to make a devoted part of their life. It can be a person, a possession, a government, a group of people, or even a religion or idea, but it is something that a Hrexxin makes a crucial part of their life. The Tih'mila is usually decided by a Hrexxin during young adulthood. Most often, the Hrexxin will feel a strong pull towards whatever object it will declare as its Tih'mila. Once the Hrexxin has decided, it will undergo a day long ritual of sorts, centering its mind around that object. Theories abound as to what prompts this behavior, everything from religious beliefs of spiritual destiny, to deep seated genetic desires, but Hrexxin do not devote much time or resources to looking into the issue. They merely accept it as a fact of life that one must have Tih'mila and one must treasure it. It remains to them a mundane mystery. Few Hrexxin have tried to resist the call of a Tih'mila, and the outcome is seldom pleasant. In all reported cases, the Hrexxin in question either committed suicide or became so mentally unstable they were a danger to others. More common is the Hrexxin who has his Tih'mila destroyed or killed. While this can be absolutely devastating to the Hrexxin, more often than not, they are able to adjust and find a new Tih'mila. It is not uncommon for those unfortunate Hrexxin to die along with their Tih'mila, however. Needless to say, the Tih'mila is quite serious in nature, and threatening a Hrexxin's Tih'mila carries some of the worst punishments in Hrexxin law. Technology A great deal of Hrexxin technology involves living machinery, that is grown more than built. While this is a difficult concept for many other species to understand, it is quite common for the Hrexxin, and the idea of having a vehicle, weapon, or other device that is in fact alive, does not bother them. They find the advantages out weigh the disadvantages. Several pieces of Hrexxin technology are quite wide spread throughout the galaxy, such as the kraiben rifle and the dendareas suit. Kraiben rifle The kraiben rifle is one of the most successful pieces of Hrexxin technology, and is one of the few devices that is often found in the hands of other species. It is a large rifle, weighing close to fifty pounds, so is not for the feint of heart or weak of arms. The one of the advantages of the Kraiben rifle is its ability to manufacture its own ammunition. If kept well fed, the weapon can manufacture close to 100 rounds in an hour. At capacity, a kraiben holds around 300 rounds. The projectiles it shoots are small hollow point beads of compressed minerals, with an acidic interior. While the rifle only has a maximum range of about 200 yards and is accurate only to about 100 yards, the projectiles are affective against most soft targets, and the acid that saturates the rounds is capable of damaging most types of armor, be it body armor or vehicle armor. The kraiben rifle also has higher brain functions, allowing it to make friend/foe recognition decisions among other things. The rifle, however, is also designed not to make such decisions, unless told to do so by its operator. They are programmed and trained to be obedient to their owner, but not all kraiben rifles will function in the hands of a total stranger. Thus, as strange as it seems, there must be a period of bonding between the rifle and the owner. The higher functions of a kraiben rifle can be lobotomized, turning it into a mindless organic tool. This procedure is often done by non-Hrexxin species who come to own a kraiben rifle, but is never done by Hrexxins, who feel the process is both cruel and an abomination. One more surprising thing about the kraiben rifle is its possession of ambulatory appendages. There are four small legs tucked into a kraiben rifle which give it the ability to maneuver itself for short distances. It is not uncommon for a such a rifle to be seen vigorously protecting a fallen master by standing watch. These legs are not intended or effective at actually helping the kraiben navigate, but are merely there so that a kraiben could aim itself on a relatively flat surface. Dendareas suit The dendareas is a biomechanical suit that almost all, if not all Hrexxin possess. It is designed to be their second skin, something that they bond with, physically and mentally and spend the majority of their lives within. As soon as a Hrexxin as reached physical maturity, it will enter a dendareas suit, one provided either by his or her parents or provided by the Exemplar to orphans. The dendareas is something that is seen as a right to all Hrexxin. The interface links that grow directly into a Hrexxin link up with nerve fibers and interface links within the suit, allowing the two life forms to engage in a symbiosis. Some Hrexxin remain in their suits permanently, allowing the interface links to fuse together and effectively making the suit part of their body. Other Hrexxin, however, spend enough time outside of the suit that the link never becomes permanent. It is considered a major lifestyle choice, whether to remain inside the dendareas or outside. For those who remain inside permanently, called quet'dinyas, mating becomes impossible but the union with the dendareas becomes so close, they for all intents and purposes, become one entity. For those who choose not to be permanently melded into their dendareas, they keep the option of having a family, but will never know what the union with a dendareas is like. In these instances, the dendareas also tends to retain a higher level of independence, thus can function more autonomously, if the Hrexxin allows it. Dendareas do have some higher brain functions, but they are simplistic creatures, with their overwhelming desire and goal being to please their master. Both choices to meld with the dendareas and to stay apart are considered trade offs of one another, but both are also considered honorable and respectable. The dendareas has hundreds of subspecies, ranging in appearance, function, number of appendages, and so on. As a generality, they are large, usually around seven foot, humanoid shaped minus the head, with a transparent plate in the chest allowing people to see the face of the Hrexxin within. The dendareas is enormously strong, but is also capable of extremely delicate manipulations from its hands. Dendareas are often customized and decorated with tattoo like etchings and dyes to color it. Category:Nowhere Bound Universe